The 80 best quotes by Simone Weil

Simone Weil left us a legacy of knowledge that is as rich as it is diverse, since this French thinker did not focus on a single topic, but rather she sought a way to link everything into a whole. We can appreciate it with her work as a politician, activist, philosopher and mystic, which led her to be part of the French Resistance during World War II and as a member of the Durruti Column in the midst of the Civil War Spanish.

In this collection of Simone Weil's best quotes You will find a sample of the way of understanding the life and politics of this philosopher.

The most inspiring Simone Weil phrases

She became an example for her companions as well as for other prominent figures such as Albert Camus or Simone de Beauvoir, who considered her spirit as a sample of the concept of empathy. Thanks to her experiences and reflections, we bring you this compilation with Simone Weil phrases that will make you think about your relationship with others.

1. Beauty is the harmony between chance and good.

Beauty is in the way we feel good about ourselves.

2. The miser, out of desire for his treasure, deprives himself of it.

If there is something sad, it is that the greedy do not enjoy what they have.

3. Absolutely pure and unmixed attention is prayer.

It's the best way to show someone how much you care.

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4. True definition of science: the study of the beauty of the world.

One of Simone Weil's phrases in which she talks about the subject of knowledge; Here, he points out that science helps us better understand the world around us.

5. Whoever takes the sword will perish by the sword. But whoever does not take the sword (or let go) will perish on the cross.

All our actions have consequences, even when we decide to do nothing.

6. A hateful act is the transfer to others of the degradation that we have within.

The mistreatment is a reflection of how unhappy that person is with himself.

7. All sins are attempts to fill gaps.

If you don't solve what ails you, the void will never be filled.

8. The word revolution is a word for which one kills, for which one dies, for which the popular masses are sent to their deaths, but which has no content.

Explaining what being a rebel means to her.

9. Solutions are not easy to conceive.

Solutions come when we are able to take problems calmly.

10. Humility is attentive patience.

When we act in a good way, good things will happen to us.

11. Stars and fruit trees in bloom. Complete permanence and extreme fragility equally provide the feeling of eternity.

Perfect things are made of vulnerabilities that last over time.

12. Equality is a vital need of the human soul.

Having the same growth opportunities as others is an objective that should prevail in society.

13. Why should I worry? Is not my business to think about me. My business is to think about God. It is God's thing to think of me.

About the close relationship with their beliefs.

14. The task of revolutions consists essentially in the emancipation not of men but of the productive forces.

The true goal of every revolution.

15. All the pains that keep us away are lost pains.

Walking away is never the right step to overcome a conflict.

16. The extreme misfortune that befalls human beings does not create human misery; it just reveals it.

Many of the crimes that are committed are the result of the same social imbalance.

17. That vulnerability of valuable things is beautiful because vulnerability is a mark of existence.

We know we are honest when we leave our vulnerabilities open.

18. Whenever one tries to suppress doubt, there is tyranny.

When freedom of expression is restricted, that is when the dictatorship begins.

19. Every work of art has an author, but when it is perfect, however, it has something anonymous. It imitates the anonymity of divine art.

When a work is shared, it is also part of those who enjoy it.

20. Loving a stranger as yourself entails the counterpart: loving yourself as a stranger.

Treat others as you like to be treated.

21. Love is not comfort, it is light.

It is the way we can see our individual and collective worth.

22. Capitalism has achieved the liberation of society in relation to nature. But that same society has quickly inherited, vis-a-vis the individual, the oppressive function that nature exercised before.

Capitalism has helped thousands of places to prosper, but those who abuse its power are the ones who turn it into modern slavery.

23. Once the experience of war makes visible the possibility of death that lies locked in every At the moment, our thought cannot travel from one day to the next without meeting the face of death.

No matter the reasons for the war, it is always bringing death in its path.

24. Creation: good torn to pieces and scattered through evil.

A way of explaining that free will is not God's responsibility.

25. The necessary energy resides in me, since with it I have to live.

The motivation to keep going must come from within.

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26. People are made in such a way that those who oppress do not feel anything; it is the oppressed person who feels what is happening.

When we don't feel injustice firsthand, we tend to ignore it.

27. Only the infinite limits the unlimited.

It is you who can stop you.

28. To love is to adore the distance with what is loved.

Distance does not have to keep people away, if there is love involved.

29. Don't let yourself be imprisoned for any affection. Preserve your solitude.

To love is to know how to respect the freedom of people, love will never be related to dependency.

30. The acquisition of knowledge in some cases brings us closer to the truth and in other cases not.

That is why we cannot be left alone with what we know or hear, we must investigate more.

31. Desiring friendship is a big mistake. Friendship should be a free enjoyment, like those provided by art or life.

Friendship flows by itself when people connect.

32. The most important part of teaching is teaching what it is to know.

Sharing our knowledge multiplies what we know.

33. I can, therefore I am.

Believing is the strongest tool to achieve what we propose.

34. The intelligent man who prides himself on his intelligence is like the condemned man who prides himself on his big cell.

All arrogance stems from the need to avoid feeling less than.

35. The imaginary evil is romantic and varied; true evil is gloomy, monotonous, sterile, boring. The imaginary good is boring; the real good is always new, wonderful, intoxicating.

What happens when we get carried away by fantasies.

36. Human existence is a thing so fragile and exposed to such dangers that I cannot love without trembling.

Every step we take is a new risk.

37. If we dive into ourselves, we find that we have exactly what we want.

Our strength is in accepting what we can do.

38. Beauty seduces the flesh in order to gain permission to pass into the soul.

True beauty is the one that positively impacts our lives.

39. The first purpose and, ultimately, the only purpose of any political party is its own growth, and that without limit.

Every political party must work for the improvement of society.

40. Any solution would imply in the first place the suppression of political parties.

For Virginia, political parties prevent the improvement of society.

41. The destruction of the past is perhaps the greatest of all crimes.

Ignoring the past will not erase it, but wait for the moment to explode.

42. Do not try not to suffer or to suffer less, but to not be upset by suffering.

Accept that pain is part of life and that should not prevent us from living.

43. The future is made of the same substance as the present.

That's why it's important to focus on what we do now.

44. Those who are unhappy do not need anything in this world but people capable of paying attention to them.

If you are not happy with yourself, you will seek constant attention, even if it is in the wrong way.

45. We should not want the disappearance of our problems but the grace to transform them.

Any difficulty can become a source of inspiration.

46. Everything that is valuable in me, without exception, comes from outside of me, not as a gift, but as a loan that must be renewed without pause.

Grateful for all the knowledge that her experiences offer her.

47. The sea is no less beautiful in our eyes because we know that sometimes ships are wrecked by it.

A metaphor that explains that, despite the difficulties, life is beautiful.

48. A beautiful woman looking at her image in the mirror may well believe that her image is herself. An ugly woman knows that she is not.

Reflections on the 'meaning' of beauty for different women.

49. Attachment is the great manufacturer of illusions; reality can only be obtained by someone who is detached.

Dependency prevents people from growing on their own.

50. We must prefer the real hell to an imaginary paradise.

As beautiful as a lie is, it is still something false and unstable.

51. The true genius is nothing other than the supernatural virtue of humility in the domain of thought.

Geniuses know how to use the power of their mind.

52. Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.

That is why there are times when life itself surprises us more than any movie.

53. A truth is always the truth of something. Truth is the splendor of reality.

The truth cannot be hidden, at any moment it finds its way out.

54. If it ever happens that true affection is offered to you, that day there will be no opposition between inner solitude and friendship, but rather the opposite. You will recognize it precisely by that infallible clue.

Loneliness can be a space of own connection.

55. It is a mistake to want to be understood before explaining yourself to yourself.

You can't expect others to understand you if you don't let yourself be known.

56. The downward movement, mirror of grace, is the essence of all music.

Music reflects the change of our feelings.

57. Unless we have sided with the oppressed person, to feel like them, we cannot understand.

It is impossible to know perfectly the situation of someone if we have not experienced the same.

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58. Evil is limitless, but not infinite.

Nothing is forever, even in the dark, a ray of light comes out.

59. To kill with thought everything that is loved: the only way to die.

We die when joy does not reach us.

60. No matter how just the cause of the victor or the vanquished may be, the evil they cause, defeat as well as victory, is inevitable.

In the case of wars, does the end justify the means?

61. Among the peculiarities of the modern world, one must not forget the impossibility of appreciating the relationship between effort and the effect of effort. Too many intermediaries.

It is better to try something than to be left wondering what would have happened if…

62. God's love for us is not the reason why we should love him. God's love for us is the reason we love ourselves.

You don't need to follow a religion to have a special connection with God.

63. By force one can lower others or prevent them from being lowered; but high only education achieves it.

Education is the main pillar of all professional growth.

64. The beauty of the world, for example, is a sign of a God that is both personal and impersonal, and neither one nor the other.

Each person can have their own way of seeing God.

65. Money, machining, algebra. The three monsters of the current civilization. Perfect analogy.

Although money is necessary to live, consumerism is a destruction of society.

66. The belief in the existence of other human beings as such is love.

Love is recognizing the value that we all have as a person.

67. Scientific socialism has become a dogma, just like all the results obtained by modern science.

Talking about the change in the notion of socialism.

68. It seems that we should be in the middle of the revolutionary period.

Every revolution arises when the people get tired of oppression.

69. By fighting anguish one never produces serenity; the fight against anxiety only produces new forms of anxiety.

Overcoming anguish is not based on escaping, but on accepting it.

70. Desire is a longing of thought towards the future.

If we want to improve, we must desire that necessary change.

71. The same amount of respect and attention is owed to every human being, because respect has no degrees.

Everyone deserves respect just for being people.

72. Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.

When you offer your attention to someone, you show them what they mean in your life.

73. All publicity, all propaganda, so varied in its forms, that seeks to excite the desire for the superfluous, both in the countryside and among the workers, must be considered a crime.

A critique of the use of empty promises with the most needy population in society.

74. Loving the truth means enduring life, and therefore accepting death. The truth is next to death.

Death, although it is difficult to accept, is part of life itself.

75. Everything beautiful has a mark of eternity.

The things that amaze are marked in history.

76. In order for your right hand to ignore what your left is doing, it will have to be hidden from consciousness.

It is impossible to live with a clear conscience when you have something to pay.

77. Love is a source of energy.

Love fills us with encouragement to continue improving.

78. You have to do what is possible to achieve the impossible.

The impossible is achieved by taking constant and firm steps.

79. The social order cannot be more than a balance of forces.

For a society to be just, it needs to find a way to be balanced.

80. Only balance undoes strength.

Strength is not measured by weight, but by retaining a balance.